The present invention relates to sliding doors and, more particularly, to a novel guide assembly for the upper end of a sliding door.
Sliding doors are utilized in a wide variety of applications, and frequently as closet closures. Although some sliding doors will slide into a pocket within the wall, it is more common to close an opening with a pair of bypassing doors which are guided in upper tracks and stabilized at their lower ends in tracks or guides. When the door is one which includes a mirror, frequently the mirror itself is encased in a metal or wooden frame with guides being provided at the upper end of the frame to seat in the track for stabilization of the door.
In Jacobs et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,150 granted Feb. 2, 1988, there is disclosed a door guide for the upper end of a mirrored door which, in one embodiment, includes a pair of roller elements adapted to bear against opposite faces of a U-shaped channel. As will be appreciated, the diameter of these rotating elements must be such that the pair of elements will fit within the width of the track, and this track is normally of a relatively small width so that the diameters of the individual rotating elements is relatively small. Because of the weight of the door and the resultant friction as the door rolls back and forth along the track, the rotating elements do wear, and, as they wear, their efficiency in stabilizing the upper end of the door is decreased.
Moreover, the rolled metal tracks which are frequently utilized are subject to a fairly large tolerances in the fabrication of the width of the channels and frequently these tracks are distorted, either during installation or as the result of shock loadings which might be placed on the tracks through the door. This also results in a tendency for increasing wear and for decreasing the stability and smooth operation of the movement of the door in the track.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel door guide assembly which will exhibit long life while providing smooth motion of the upper portions of the door along a track.
It is also an object to provide such a door guide assembly which is relatively simple and economical to fabricate and which may be readily installed upon the door.
Another object is to provide such a door guide assembly which affords smooth operating characteristics despite defects in the track within which the door guide rides.